Sunday Salon

This has been another poor reading week for me, but when I turned up at school on Monday I found I had to organise English lessons for Friday based around a European theme! This was a huge shock, especially as I was behind with everything else I had to do, because I was ill in bed last Sunday. Anyway it got planned eventually - the originals of fairytales before the Brothers Grimm and Disney got their hands on them and softened them up, the kids loved all the gory bits, and I quite enjoyed reading them so that'll be a book or two added to my wish list.

For Weekly Geeks last week we was supposed to set ourselves a target of things to catch up on, I said my reading, but only managed to finish The Famished Road and start Rabbit Proof Fence so that went down the pan, I didn't even read any short stories this week. As for today, I writing this really early as I'm off to visit my mum for the day, when I get back I'm going to be good and go for a swim, to kick off my keep fit regime, I may manage to read for a little while.
Next week I have Friday off (yay!), a lot of exercise and studying to do, but I plan to read The Stolen Child and Two Caravans, and hopefully start The Hours.

How's your reading week been, has everything gone to plan?

My Thoughts: The Famished Road by Ben Okri

This book about the life a a spirit-child, he struggles and fights for his chance to live, and at many times has to fight against the spirits who want him to return to the spirit world.

The book deals with many African political and social problems, including poverty, hunger, lack of stability and the dirty tricks and means used by politicians to capture as man votes as they can. The whole community is filled with spirits and their actions can affect the life of all, yet the boy is the person most affected. He moves between normal life, the spirit world and a time and space where they both converge.

I'll be honest and say that this book was a struggle, I'm sure that their were many references to folk tales, religion and cultural beliefs that I just didn't know enough about to recognise. However, this is a book that I wish I had had the opportunity to study when I was at university, it would have been great to learn about the influences, origins and context of the novel and to attend seminars and hear other peoples views about it.

Challenges:

2008 Booker Challenge: Book 5/6

Fall into Reading: Book 1

Olympic Challenge: Nigeria

Book Awards 2: Book 1/10

Other Reviews:

Jackie's

Trevor's Review

Sunday Salon: A random variety, plus Short Story Sunday

This weeks Sunday Salon is going to include a random mixture of bits and pieces. Firstly, I have to say that reading this week has been slowly, some of that is down to the fact that I started a book I thought I would love and just didn't want to admit to myself that I couldn't be bothered by it, I wasted 3 evenings on A Carnivore's Inquiry, only reading 120 pages when I could had guessed after 30 pages that I would be giving up on this quickly. I also spent 2 evenings with that horrible foggy brain you get before a cold comes out, which has really affected my reading.

I'm now reading The Famished Road, which I'm loving, but wondering how I'm going to review. I'm quite tempted to do a WG style review, so if anyone has any questions about this book that they'd like to ask, ask away here as it will help me structure the review. I'm hoping to finish reading this by mid week.

Talking about Weekly Geeks, this week is catch-up week and while I don't have any outstanding reviews to write up or completed challenges, I have this mammoth reading list for Fall into Reading to tackle, as I really need to catch up with my reading or I won't be completing many challenges in time. So I'm going to try and finish The Famished Road this week, read Coraline and tackle at least one of my bookring reads. Outside of reading, I also need to catch up on my sign language lessons, I haven't been for 9 weeks, largely because of the school holidays (its run at school), but I haven't practised as I should so I've seemingly forgot nearly everything I spent a year learning, and I need to catch up on my A Level course this afternoon.

Less babble about me, now time for Short Story Sunday. This morning I read Keepsakes and Treasures by Neil Gaiman, from his Fragile Things collection. This story is definitely only for adults but is first rate.
This story is about a man who was born to a woman locked away for clinical nymphomania in the 50's, despite being in an asylum she still managed to fall pregnant, and his father can only be one of the men who are supposed to be protecting her. From a young age, the boy has used murder as revenge and punishment for those who harmed him and his mother. His actions are noticed by Mr Alice, one of the world's richest men, but a man who used his money to stop the public finding out who he is. The boy comes to work for Mr Alice for the rest of his life, he is the person who seeks out and fulfills Mr Alice's desires, whether they are business desires or personal ones. Mr Alice's main desire is for young men to have sexual encounters with. The main part of the story centres around Mr Alice's acquisition of the Treasure of Shahinai, a young exquisitely beautiful boy.
This is an excellent story, but avoid if you dislike sexual scenes or bad language.

I also read yesterday Gaiman's excellent story Bitter Grounds, in this story we follow a young man who is clearly bored of life and just looking for an escape. He decides to drive around America, and meets a professor on his way to a lecture. When the professor mysteriously disappears, the man steals his papers and goes to the conference himself, giving a speech about the zombie coffee girls.
These where read for Short Story September

Fall into Reading 2008

This challenge is being held over at Callapidder Days, it starts from the 22nd of September and runs through to December 20th. The idea is to motivate everyone in their reading, you set yourself a goal with a list of books you plan to read in this time frame, and then aim to meet (or beat) your target. I'm hoping this will help me focus in my reading, as I'm a bit slapdash at the moment, and it will set out all the books I need to read for the many challenges I'm falling behind on. I'm doing this a few days early as I'm stuck indoors with a fuzzy head, and a seeming inability to focus on either a film or a book.

My List:

finish The Famished Road, Okri (for 2008 Booker challenge/Unread Authors/Book Awards 2) ***

1. Two Caravans, Lewycka (2nds challenge, and bookring)****

2. The Stolen Child, Donohue (Bookring)****

3. Rabbit Proof Fence, Pilkington (Bookring, YA Challenge) **

4. East of Eden, Steinbeck (Bookcrossing Readalong, Classic Challenge)

5. Out, Kirino (RIP III & Japanese Challenge)

6. The End of Mr Y, Thomas (RIP III)

7. The Ghost Feeler, Wharton (RIP III, Short Story Challenge)

finish The Little Black Book of Stories, Byatt (RIP III, Short Stories Challenge)

8. Selected Tales, Poe (RIP III, Short Stories)

9. V for Vendetta, Moore (Graphic Novel)

10. The Complete Maus, Speigelman (Book Awards 2, The New Classics Challenge)

finish Eldest, Paolini (YA Challenge)

11. The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver (The New Classics Challenge, )

12. Gilead, Robinson (The New Classics Challenge, Book Awards 2)

13. Girlfriend in a Coma, Coupland (2nds Challenge, 2nd Canadian Book Challenge)

14. New Moon, Meyer (Mini Challenge, YA Challenge)

15. Sugar and Other Stories, Byatt (Short Stories Challenge)

16. The Sailor Who Fell with Grace from the Sea, Mishma (Japanese Challenge, 2nds Challenge)

17. The Gathering, Enright (2008 Booker, Book Awards 2)

18. Fugitive Pieces, Micheals (Book Awards 2, The Canadian Book Challenge)

19. Coraline, Gaiman (RIP III, YA Challenge)

20. I Sweep the Sun off Roof Tops, Al-Shaykh (Olympic Challenge)

21. The Book of Chamelons, Agualasa (Olympic Challenge)

22. Allah Is Not Obliged, Kourouma (Olympic Challenge)

23. History: A Novel, Morante (Olympic Challenge)

24. Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton (Olympic Challenge)

Hmm... if I complete this list I will be really chuffed and a little surprised, I also know I have a couple of bookrings which are likely to turn up at some point.

Challenges I'm joining for 2009

This is very early to be joining challenges for 2009, but here goes. I'm joining Becky in 3 of her mini challenges for next year.
The rules are simply to read 2 books by the chosen author within 2009. Becky has chosen 4 authors for the mini challenges and I am partcipating in 3 of these.
My Choices:
Steinbeck = The Pearl & Grapes of Wrath
Defoe = Moll Flanders and ?
Scott Westerfeld = The Uglies and The Pretties.

Looking forward to seeing what ever other challenges are announced and announcing my own!

Short Story September: The Headstrong Historian by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This story can be found here in The New Yorker which has a great selection of short stories.

Nwamgba is looking back over her life, she remembers her fierce stubbonness and determination to marry Obierika despite all the rumours about the infertility which ran through his ancestors. When they marry she suffers many miscarriages, being forced to make sacrifices until her son is born.

Shortly after this birth, her husband dies, Nwamgba decides to send her son to an English school, a decision which leaves her proud but practically cuts her out of her sons life. Her son is renamed Micheal, the Christian Missionary school teaches her nudity is wrong, that sacrifices and the rites performed by African tribes are heathen and should be avoided. This education that he recieves which was supposed to help him, creates a divide between his communities beliefs and his.

When he marries and has children, his Mother wishes that she recieves a grandchild, who is the reincarnation of her husband. This new child Grace, can experience the African world and its beliefs, as well as experience and benefit from the British education system.

Another good read for Short Story September

Booking Through Thursday: Seasons

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer? - BTT

As a teacher I had a gorgeous six weeks off of school, and as I have no kids, husband etc and most of my friends aren't teachers I have countless hours to myself to read, read, read. Now I'm back at school and have started a course at home my reading time is less. But they'll be a weeks holiday in 4 weeks or so, so I guess I can't whinge. Also they seem to put better shows on the telly in the winter, so that also inflicts on my time.
As to whether my reading choices change, I don't think it has a huge affect. I like to read something spooky near haloween, and some kids book over Christmas but thats it really. Either way I love reading in the winter in hot baths and under blankets, in the summer I always believe I can read outside (on those days the sun shines) but once out there I remember that the neighbour has an annoying screaming kid and the sun is glaring in my eyes.